Dear Manchester Regiment Forum,
I am seeking help in confirming which regiment my grandfather served in during the Great War. The only evidence I have is this photograph, which is on magazine-style paper. He is James Hooper, and is on this groupd picture in the centre of the back row, looking typically unassuming.
I thought his cap badge looks like Manchester Regiment, and I have found a J Hooper (17657) on forces-war-records who shows as in 20th (Service) Battalion (5th City) Manchester Regiment, 91st Infantry Brigade. This is plausible: I note that these battalions were “raised by the Mayor and Industrialists of the City of Manchester from the clerks and warehousemen of the city” – my grandfather came from the area and would probably have worked as an accountant in Manchester or Stockport at this time.
I would love to add his picture to livesofthefirstworldwar, but would hate to attribute it to the wrong J Hooper. (I note the deadline for that is looming – Monday!)
Unfortunately J Hooper is listed as not present on his Platoon’s photograph. I can see somebody on the supplementary photo who might possibly be him, but that could be wishful thinking.
If anybody in the Manchester Regiment community has a view on my tentative Manchester Regiment attribution, or any insight on this photograph, I would be really interested to hear. [I'm struggling to upload the full picture, so am trying with a compressed version, then a close up of the faces.]
Many thanks.
H Corlett
